Secret Tip to Increase Your Nonprofit’s Email Open Rate

In email marketing, no word is considered dirtier than ‘Spam.’ The phrase itself is enough to send shivers down the spine of anyone marketing online. Today we’d like to share a little-known tip to increase your nonprofit’s email open rates and keep you out of the Spam folder.

email open ratesFirst off, let’s talk about Sender Packet Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM). Both SPF and DKIM have one purpose: to work as an email validation system to prevent spam by verifying sender IP addresses. For example, if you’ve ever received an email that appears to have come from you but you know it didn’t, this is known as email spoofing. SPF and DKIM prevent email spoofing by verifying the senders IP address.

So, what does all this mean for your nonprofit?

Because checking your DKIM is a bit more technical and will require getting your I.T. team involved, we’re only going to discuss SPF. If you’re sending out messages using either Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, or any other free email providers, your emails could be going straight to the spam folder if these accounts do not have an SPF record. This also includes your Google Apps, Constant Contact, Campaign Monitor, and Emma accounts.

To remedy this problem, you need to verify each of the previously mentioned accounts have an SPF record. To get started, visit www.mxtoolbox.com/SuperTool.aspx then follow the screenshots below to check your organization’s SPF record.



To create an SPF record for your chosen email marketing service provider, click the relevant link below:

Watch the video to learn more about how to keep your emails far, far away from the dreaded Spam folder. Have any questions about SPF/Spam/or email marketing in general? Leave us a comment below!